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Woking Scheme Sees Six Tonnes Of Small WEEE Collected

19 January 2012

Biffa's launch of a new service collecting small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) from the doorsteps of householders in Woking, Surrey, has seen six tonnes collected over the Christmas period

Since it was introduced in early December as an addition to Biffa's recycling and refuse collection contract for Woking Borough Council, the service has collected around six tonnes of small WEEE that would otherwise have been sent for disposal by landfill or incineration.

Nearly 300kg of used batteries have also been collected by the Biffa-operated service.

Designed to be as easy as possible to use, the service enables residents to leave small WEEE in a carrier bag alongside their refuse and recycling bins. Biffa's crews collect these bags during normal rounds and place them in special cages mounted underneath their collection vehicles.

Bulk loads of WEEE are then sent to MDJ Light Brothers' specialist recycling centre in East Sussex for processing into reusable materials.　

Councillor Beryl Hunwicks, portfolio holder for waste and recycling at Woking Borough Council, said: "We are thrilled that residents have embraced the new WEEE collection service and diverted several tonnes of electrical items away from local landfill. This additional recycling stream will help to push our recycling rate beyond the current 60 percent mark."

Woking's new service, plus equivalent schemes being launched later this year for Swale and Surrey Heath Borough Councils, result from Biffa's successful application on behalf of those councils to the Distributor Takeback Scheme (DTS) Local Project Fund.

Pete Dickson, development director for Biffa's municipal division, described the excellent service start as "very encouraging".

Darrel Moore